#SchoolToPrisonPipeline in the News
by nancy a heitzeg

“Dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline requires us to attend to both the school and the prison, to confront the cloud of color-blind racism that shrouds each of them,” says Heitzeg. “As Angela Davis note, We must creatively exploring new terrains of justice, where the prison no longer serves as our major anchor.”

Our nation’s shift away from a “common good” ethos significantly impacted the shift upwards in criminalization and incarceration rates, so it’s time to shift that back, argues Heitzeg. Any long-term solution requires resources.

“Government exists in part to ensure opportunity for all people, and to bridge the gaps in poverty, housing and education,” says Heitzeg. “The argument against this in recent years is that government is too big. Yet, isn’t the prison industrial complex big government? It’s time to re-examine our priorities.”…

Heitzeg will read from her book, followed by a discussion and book signing, Friday, September 30, noon-2 p.m., in 103 Fontbonne on the University’s St. Paul Campus. Part of the Imagine Sociology Series, the event is sponsored by the Departments of Sociology, Critical Studies of Race and Ethnicity, and Women’s Studies.

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Why are black preschoolers in America more than three times as likely to be suspended than their white classmates?

Perhaps because teachers are more likely to expect young black children — especially young black boys — to misbehave, according to a new Yale study.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Yale University Child Study Center, asked more than 130 preschool teachers to watch video clips of children in classrooms. The teachers were told to look for signs of “challenging behavior.”….

“Implicit biases do not begin with black men and police. They begin with black preschoolers and their teachers, if not earlier,” he said, referring to the multiple fatal shootings of black men by police that have given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement and a national debate about law enforcement’s treatment of people of color. “Implicit bias is like the wind: You can’t see it, but you can sure see its effects.”

Black children accounted for 19 percent of all preschool students in 2013-2014, but they made up 47 percent of those who received suspensions, according to federal civil rights data.

The Dignity in Schools Campaign ― a coalition of organizations, parents and students from 27 states ― wants heavily policed campuses to be a thing of the past. It released a set of recommendations on Wednesday to promote alternatives to harsh school discipline and youth criminalization. DSC members plan to present the guidance to lawmakers during congressional briefings later in the day.

The new recommendations are the strongest that DSC member organizations ― groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund ― have ever made collectively on the issue of school policing.”

Take Action!

Members and allies of the Dignity in Schools Campaign from around the country will hold actions in support of these five demands:

#1 Shift funding from school police to counselors, peace builders and positive discipline. #2 Fund and use transformative and restorative justice, mediation and positive interventions. #3 Stop arresting and pushing out students of color, LGBTQ youth, students that are homeless, and students with disabilities at higher rates. (Black students are pushed out at the highest rates nationally.) #4 Make sure states and districts focus on school climate under the new federal law – the Every Student Succeeds Act. #5 End paddling and physical punishment in all schools.